1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a battery module and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to ensuring safety during the assembly process or other handling processes for a battery module
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, several or even tens of rechargeable batteries can be connected to form a battery module. A rechargeable battery is a battery that has the capacity for repeated charge and discharge cycles through reversible conversion between chemical energy and electrical energy. Recently, a large number of portable wireless electronic products have been developed. In order to reduce the size and weight of these products, demands for a rechargeable battery having high energy density have increased.
Examples of widely used rechargeable batteries include nickel-cadmium, nickel-hydrogen, and lithium secondary batteries. In particular, a lithium secondary battery has an operating voltage of 3.6 V or more, which is three times as high as that of a nickel-cadmium battery or a nickel-hydrogen battery. Furthermore, the lithium secondary battery market as a power source for portable electronic devices is growing rapidly because of the battery's high energy density per unit weight.
A typical rechargeable battery includes an electrode assembly in which a separator is disposed between an anode and a cathode, a can shaped to contain the electrode assembly, and a cap assembly coupled with the can to close and seal the can. A rechargeable battery may be manufactured in various shapes depending on the shapes of the electrode assembly and the can. For example, a rechargeable battery may have a cylindrical shape, a prismatic shape, or a pouch shape.
Battery modules constructed with interconnected rechargeable batteries have been widely used as power sources for small-sized portable electronic devices (cellular phones, personal computers and camcorders, etc.) as well as motor-driving power source for hybrid electric vehicles.
A battery module has a structure where the electrically connected rechargeable batteries are disposed in a pack case. The manufacturing processes for such a battery module include a process for electrically connecting the rechargeable batteries with the connection members and a process of disposing the connected rechargeable batteries in the pack case. Therefore, disposing the electrically-connected rechargeable batteries in the pack case involves multiple operations.
However, when the assembly process for connecting and securing the electrically connected rechargeable batteries in the pack case is carried out, task safety cannot be ensured. In other words, since the task is performed in a state of current flow, task safety cannot be ensured because of the current.
In addition, when an existing battery module is repaired, the rechargeable batteries are disassembled from a state in which the rechargeable batteries are electrically connected, so task safety again cannot be ensured.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the invention; therefore it may contain information that is prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.